Happy Leukemic Process Day!
Three years ago today, on another beautiful afternoon like this
one, I was stunned when a doctor called and said he wanted me to go to the
hospital right away.
I had gone to my primary care doctor that morning because of
a lump on my left side that turned out to be a very large spleen. He had said, “You are so healthy that I’m
sure it must be a benign process.” But
in that afternoon phone call he said, “Your white blood cell count is over
40,000 and we can tell that it is a leukemic process.”
That was the beginning of my myelofibrosis journey – bone marrow
biopsies, CT scans, ultrasound scans, needle sticks, complete blood counts, HLA
matching, genomic testing, mutation panels and pathology reports. There have been various prognoses of how long
I might live with myelofibrosis. I have
struggled with various symptoms and I have responded well to an expensive med
that relieves those symptoms. Three
years into it, I am in a good place. I
feel well, I am able to work full time, I am active and still learning new
things.
I have been blessed – not in spite of myelofibrosis – but through
myelofibrosis. I’ve met many people I
would never have known except for myelofibrosis. Many of my new friends have helped me through
rough times and some have let me help them through rough times.
Above all, having this fatal disease has helped me to
appreciate life more than I ever did before.
I have learned to savor the present and to not let an unknown future
spoil even a moment. Myelofibrosis has
been a finishing school for my maturation process and I praise God for it.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be complete and whole, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
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